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Hot Dog on a Stick files for bankruptcy

KPCC Staff

In this Creative Commons licensed photo, a clerk in the colorful Hot Dog on a Stick uniform takes a customer's order. HDOS Enterprises, which owns the iconic restaurant chain, announced Monday that it has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Luigi Anzivino/flickr Creative Commons

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The company that owns the fast food chain Hot Dog on a Stick announced Monday that it has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

Hot Dog on a Stick is the iconic Southern California restaurant chain popular in malls and known for its brightly colored, circus-like uniforms. Its main offering is the trademarked "hot dog on a stick," but don't call it a corn dog — nowhere on the menu is there mention of one (though the ingredients confirm that, indeed, the batter contains corn meal).

HDOS Enterprises cited declining foot traffic at malls and expensive leases established during the real estate boom for its financial woes. The company said it is seeking relief so it can implement a plan to reorganize and restructure its business.

"We’ve been pursuing new leases in all locations and the Chapter 11 filing will allow us to do so in a more effective manner," CEO Dan Smith said in a statement released Monday.

HDOS notes that its first restaurant opened in 1946 in Santa Monica; today, it currently operates 93 locations. It plans to continue business as usual throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, so no need for corn dog-loving patrons to panic.

Did you ever work at Hot Dog on a Stick? If you've eaten there, what did you think? How does it compare to other corn dogs in the region? And where would you go, by the way, if they all closed down?